Once More
by Emperor Zeref Dragneel
Summary: Sai reveals to Naruto what he had told her that had spurred her to go looking for him in the Land of Iron, to Naruto's shock. Enraged at his friend over revealing a secret he had purposely withheld with all the right intentions, Naruto acts to set everything right again. Will it be for the best, or will the situation just complicate itself further?
1. Chapter 1

**A/N:** I do not own Naruto.

 **Chapter 1-Realization**

The current two males of Team Seven were trudging down one street of their village, having recently returned from the Land of Iron owing to the recent events of the Kage Summit. After all that had been said and done, and the promise had been met between Uchiha Sasuke and Uzumaki Naruto under the bridge where the Uchiha had killed Danzo, all that had been left was to wait patiently till the appointed time, where Naruto and Sasuke were to fight each other one last time. Of course, all was not water under the bridge yet. Naruto turned to face his teammate, Sai, intending to ask him something that had been bothering him for quite a while, ever since the pale skinned man had revealed the decision that had been made by the Konoha 11 regarding Sasuke.

"Sai, there's something I want to ask you," Naruto started, his voice displaying the curiosity he was feeling at the moment.

The dark haired man, who resembled his Uchiha teammate vaguely, shifted his gaze to the blonde man walking next to him. He had been endorsed in his thoughts regarding Danzo's death, and what that potentially held for the future of Root, that he had not been paying attention to the man beside him. "Yes, Naruto, what is it?"

Naruto cleared his throat, and then continued with his earlier statement, his curiosity welling up more and more. "Back then, in the Land of Iron, when you said that you were the one who unintentionally pushed Sakura to confess to me and hide the truth from me, what did you mean by that?" The blonde man asked. Truthfully, it was not that he had forgotten entirely what had happened, but rather, with all that had transpired since then, Sasuke attacking the Kage Summit and all, he had not gotten a chance to think clearly on what Sai had meant back then. Now was as opportune a time as any to finally clear his vagueness regarding the matter, so he decided to go ahead and inquire the truth from his teammate.

The dark haired man looked at Naruto in surprise, his eyebrows rising slightly to display the confusion he was feeling. He had not exactly quite chosen to remember what had happened in the snowy land, but could not forget the facts he had come to learn regarding the relationship between the blonde man next to him, and the pink haired girl who was somewhere separate in the village by then. He still remembered vividly the anger he had been feeling regarding how the two continuously allowed themselves to suffer because of Sasuke's actions, and the sadness he felt when he realized just how much the feelings of Naruto towards Sakura had caused him pain. Determined, he had decided to take a stand regarding the matter, but now that he thought about it, he wasn't sure whether that had been the best decision at the time.

Still, it would not do any good to hide the truth from Naruto at the moment, so he decided to be honest with his friend. "Oh, that. When you left for the Land of Iron with Kakashi-sensei and Captain Yamato, I went to talk to Sakura, and I told her the truth about everything."

Naruto's eyes widened in surprise, and he could feel his heart clenching in his chest, as he proceeded to ask the inevitable question, "What….truth?" The words came out disjointedly from Naruto's mouth, expressing the slight fear that was rising in him at that moment, his mind telling him that there could have been only one possible truth that Sai revealed to Sakura. It was something that he had chosen to confide in only to the Root member, so there could have been no mistake about what he was thinking at the moment. In his gut, he felt a slightly unnerved feeling, his heart sinking a tad bit deeper with each passing minute.

"I told her that you loved her, how clear it was to me, and that how your promise to her about Sasuke was making you suffer all the time. The promise itself was like a cursed seal," the dark haired man continued unhesitatingly, as the look on Naruto's face just then had been enough to tell him that the blonde had realized what Sai would say a moment before he responded to Naruto's question. There was no use hiding it now, and everything was now in the open.

Naruto's face contorted into an unreadable expression, as his brows creased forward and his mouth narrowed in astonishment. Immediately, he moved to grab the dark haired man's jacket, placing all of his strength into his arm, to display just how furious he was feeling about Sai at the moment.

On the other hand, however, the dark haired man still retained the same impassive expression that often adorned his face, showing that he felt no regret regarding what he had just done. He had half-expected Naruto to act this way ever since he had discovered what Sai had done without informing him, so being handled like that wasn't exactly something he found surprising. In fact, he was more relieved that Naruto had not punched him in anger.

"Why did you do that?!" Naruto nearly shouted out as he questioned the dark haired man, his anger seeping out with each word he uttered. His hand, that currently had its unrelenting grip on Sai's attire, was shaking slightly, as he tried his best to restrain the feeling he had to punch Sai square in the face right there and then. He drew the man slightly closer, where he could now see the dark orbs in his eyes clearly, and they still had the maddening air of stillness that they always carried.

Calmly, the dark haired man placed his hand atop Naruto's, before replying," Why shouldn't I have done that?"

"Because, you know damn well what I had decided on doing!" Naruto pressured on, his anger and irritation rising with each moment. Inwardly, he felt a mixture of feelings, among them anger, frustration, shock, but a small part of him betrayed. The things he had told Sai regarding his feelings for Sakura were meant to be a pact between them, an unsaid promise between two men, but Sai had gone on and babbled about his feelings to the girl of his dreams. Naruto could not help but feel that the man had ruined a moment Naruto had looked forward to since his childhood days, the excitement to the moment increasing with each passing day.

Sai, however, was not going to relent so easily. "Then, are you suggesting that I should have just stood back and watched you to continue suffer?!" He started, the tone of his voice a notch higher than it had been mere moments ago. "I was supposed to continue watching you agonize over someone who you could see every day, but couldn't do anything about because of some twisted promise? How can I call myself your friend if I watch you suffer without doing anything?" He continued, and Naruto thought he could sense a tinge of sadness in Sai's voice just then.

Naruto knew, however, as much as Sai tried to simplify things, they had never been that simple. The thought of confessing to the girl of his dreams had occurred to him several times in his youth, but each time he had resolved to do it, he found his heart wavering and he pushed the thought to the annals of his mind. Most of the reason had been due to Sakura's affections towards Sasuke, but in the back of his head, he realized just what confessing to Sakura would entail. If the girl came to know of his undying love for her, it would be a burden to her. Things between the two shinobi had changed drastically ever since they had first been placed in Team Seven, and now the two had grown the closest that friends could. However, if Naruto had decided to take that one step further, he knew that things could never quite remain the same between him and Sakura. Occasionally, he would display his affections to her, but that was to make her happy, and see her smile, more than anything. And he was happy with just that. If things went any further, he had a feeling that Sakura would probably feel grief-stricken over the fact that she had not noticed his feelings for her, despite the two being so close to each other. She was that kind of a girl, he surmised. The thought made him sad, and he had resolved never to put the pink haired girl through such a sad thing. Even if, yes, even if it meant that he had to sacrifice his feelings, and consequentially, his happiness.

"Yes, you should have done just that!" Naruto responded to the dark haired man defiantly. A small part of him disagreed with his reply just then. "You should have just minded your own damn business!" He finished his retort, slightly shaking the man who was still under his grip. Naruto, however, was unsure of what he had said just then. He had been driven by anger and irritation towards his friend, but could not help but feeling a little sad inside him. After Sai had revealed to him the truth regarding Sakura's intentions when she had confessed to him, and said how much she loved Sasuke that she was unable to watch him sink any further into darkness, Naruto felt himself dying inside at that. At that moment, he had not been aware of it himself, but he was on the verge of giving up his feelings towards the pink haired girl. Finally realizing that she would probably always love Sasuke, and that he would never have a shot at the girl who he had loved since he could remember, he swallowed the crushing defeat he had felt, plus the tears that had threatened to escape his eyes otherwise. Now that Sai had revealed to him what had been the cause of all this, the feelings all came crashing back at him, and he had to turn his head slightly to the side to ease the pain. It worked, but to an extent.

Sai, who had been watching his teammate fighting with his conflicted feelings in silence for the past few seconds, chose to say nothing. Once Naruto had looked to the side, however, he took it as his chance to finally say something, "I don't think you have to hold yourself back from what you've always wanted on account of a promise," he stated bluntly, and did not miss the flash of anger that crossed Naruto's eyes just then as he shifted his gaze back to him.

"I didn't make the promise for Sakura! I also did it for myself, since I also want to save Sasuke!" He reiterated, his voice rising in frustration, echoing the same words he had when he had responded to Sakura's confession just then. He was baffled at how no one seemed to understand that part of him, but then again, he didn't realize when he had started believing that.

"Do you seriously believe that? Are you telling me that you believe everything you said just now?!" Sai replied back to his teammate, feeling a small tinge of anger in him. He suppressed it, deciding to focus on what really mattered in the present. Naruto wasn't being honest with himself just then, something which Sai noted with a shocking realization. One of the reasons that he had come to admire Naruto was how he always wore his heart on his chest, and how he was always honest with himself, especially in regards with his feelings. No. This wasn't right. That hadn't been Naruto just then, he noted. Perhaps he was trying his best to brush the sadness he had been feeling ever since he had realized the magnitude of Sakura's feelings for Sasuke, and it had all been on account of Sai. The dark haired man bit his lower lip in frustration, resolving to make things right.

"What do you mean by that?" Naruto asked his teammate, a bit uncertain as to what had caused him to say that just then. He was sure of what he had said, right? But then, why did a small part of him hurt, nevertheless?

"Don't take me for a fool, Naruto. I may not be adept with knowing about relationships and feelings, but don't believe for a second that I won't notice when you lie to me so blatantly!" Sai retorted, his voice rising with panic. Naruto was taken aback, slightly loosening the grip he had on Sai's jacket just then, but Sai was not quite done yet. He still had a lot to say. "You think I didn't notice the way you were holding something back when you were talking to Sakura after her confession. Anyone could have noticed it back then, but the two of you were clearly inwardly fighting with something, so you chose not to reveal it to each other," Sai concluded his explanation, and he had to inhale a tad deeper, feeling his lungs deflate due to the manner in which he had lashed out to Naruto then. Still, he could not deny the slight feeling of satisfaction he had felt since he had managed to say everything that he had been planning to say for a while now.

Naruto stared at the man, shocked. His mouth was slightly parted in astonishment, and for a few seconds, he just stood there, rooted to the ground. He had never quite seen Sai angry, much less over something regarding his personal life, but he had realized just how serious the man was about all this. Releasing his grip on the man, he let his hand fall limply beside him.

"That's-"the blonde man started, but he found himself lacking of words, so he stayed silent for a while. A slight sense of shame riddled his body just then. For a moment, he wondered just what had brought on this strife between him and his teammate, but then again, he wasn't just about ready to forgive Sai for telling Sakura something as important as that. Something that he had chosen to willingly withhold from her, opting to reveal it once he had brought her happiness back to her. This wasn't going to be resolved as easily as it had seemed. He gritted his teeth in anger, realizing what he had to do without wasting any time.

Placing one foot forward, the blonde man immediately stormed off in the opposite direction from where he had been walking toward with his teammate earlier. As he distanced himself from the dark haired man, he heard him faintly calling out to him, "Where are you going, Naruto?" Sai asked, concerned over what action the man was planning to take.

"I'm going to set things straight."

 **A/N:** A little something I had opted to prepare in regards to NaruSaku week, originally I had intended for it to be a one shot, but I realized that would be doing things half-heartedly, and the feelings that Naruto and Sakura hold for each other do not deserve such a disgrace. This story might go on for a maximum of five chapters, but I hope you will enjoy each and every one of the chapters. Happy NaruSaku week everyone!


	2. I Didn't Ask You to Love Me

**Chapter 2**

 **I Didn't Ask You to Love Me**

Naruto did not take too much time in finding Sakura, he had a faint idea where she was at the moment. It was the place where she spent most of her time after the village was assaulted by the Akatsuki leader, Pain, alongside with her senior in Medical Ninjutsu, Shizune. Flapping the opening to the tent where the Hokage was currently resting in the care of the two Medical Ninja, he found her resting at one side of the blonde woman and applying a cold towel on her forehead.

At the unexpected appearance of her best friend, the pink haired girl shifted her attention away from the Hokage and to her blonde best friend who was standing at the entrance to her tent. Shizune was also mildly surprised to see him, ever since Tsunade had been put to rest in this makeshift hospital; Naruto had never come to see her. Well, one could not blame him. With all the stuff that had happened regarding Sasuke and the Five Kage Summit, Naruto had spent most of his time in the Land of Iron looking for his best friend and trying to dissipate the news he had heard regarding Sasuke's dismissal. The matter had been resolved peacefully, so maybe he had finally created time in his schedule to come and see the woman who he looked up to as the Village Head.

"I need to talk to you for a while, Sakura-chan," Naruto addressed the pink haired girl, denoting his intentions why he came to that tent. Sakura batted an eyebrow in surprise, owing to the curt manner in which her blonde teammate had talked to her, but nonetheless, she extricated herself off the ground and followed suit after him. The two walked wordlessly for a while, then halted at the back of the tent where they were in solitude away from any prying eyes.

Sakura looked into the taller man's cerulean orbs, wondering whether what had brought him to that tent was to check up on the Hokage. If that was the case, then there was no need to bring her outside just to ask, right?

Naruto, however, was the first one to break the ice after staring likewise into Sakura's emerald orbs. "How's Granny Tsunade doing?" He asked, in as calm a voice as he could muster. If he needed to talk to Sakura about something as important as what he had a falling out with Sai over, then the first thing he needed to go was to get the trivialities out of the way.

"She's getting better and better. Lady Tsunade doesn't look as pale as she did when she first entered the coma, so I think she's making steady improvement," Sakura responded in an upbeat manner, glad that her teammate was as worried for the Hokage as she was. Still, there was a funny feeling in her gut that told her there was more to the situation than Naruto was letting on, something which slightly unnerved.

Naruto managed a small smile at the pink haired woman, closing his eyes momentarily. "I see, that's great, Sakura-chan," he responded in the same calm manner he had talked earlier, although Sakura could not help but notice that there was a small strain in his voice just then. When he opened his eyes once more to focus his gaze onto her, Sakura confirmed it. His eyes carried a nervous glare, and she wondered what had brought that on. Then again, perhaps he hadn't come to ask about Tsunade after all, she surmised, as she placed her hands on her waist and prepared to get to the bottom of things.

"But something tells me that's not the reason you're here, right?" She questioned the man, curiosity welling out of her voice. Luckily, Naruto did not take too long to respond, gracing her question with a quick nod. She then kept quiet, waiting for him to tell her what had him acting in a bit of a nervous manner, while hoping in her mind that it was something that she would be able to help him with.

"Sakura-chan, there's something I want to ask you," Naruto started, and Sakura could not help but notice how his voice sounded a tad more confident this time. That was the first time Naruto had that tone when asking her something, save for when they were kids. Still, she chose not to interrupt in whatever he was going to tell her, and Naruto took that as a queue to continue," Is it true that Sai told you about my feelings for you, and that's what caused you to initially come to the Land of Iron looking for me?"

Surprised was an understatement for what the pink haired girl was feeling at the moment. Her eyes widened as she regarded what her best friend had told her plus he, wondering what had brought that on. However, she realized that there was no need hiding it after all was said and done, so she decided to be frank with him, moving her hands to fold them on her chest. "Yeah, he did. It's kind of ironic. He told me in the same exact manner you're talking to me right now."

At this response, the blonde man proceeded to place his hand on his forehead, letting out a small sound of displeasure, which of course, did not go unnoticed by the Medic. She realized, with a small sinking feeling in her chest that was the same look that Naruto always had whenever he was displeased about something.

She decided to continue talking, since for some reason she couldn't place her finger on, she did not find his reaction just then to be pleasing. Had he taken what Sai had done to be a mistake of some sorts? "And I'm glad he told me, Naruto, otherwise I would have continued to hurt you without knowing," she concluded her earlier statement, but with a more defiant note to her voice this time. There was no way Sakura was going to let him think that her learning about his deep love for her was a mistake. Actually, if she were allowed to be more frank on the matter, ever since she learned the truth, things became clearer to her, allowing her to put some perspective on the romantic notion of her life.

Naruto moved his hand from his forehead slightly, giving the pink haired girl a view of his face. There was an unreadable expression on it at the moment. "That's not it, Sakura-chan," he told the Medic in what seemed to be still a displeased tone. In reality, being hurt by Sakura was far from his concerns. It was something that he had gotten used to ever since he was a child. Now that he pondered over it, it bothered him tremendously back then whenever he witnessed Sakura openly display her affections for Sasuke, but with time, he realized it was a trivial thing.

"It's just that, you weren't supposed to know that way," Naruto said, this time in a much more resigned voice. In his mind, he felt as if the conversation he was having with Sakura at the present was probably the one he should have had with her immediately she confessed to him in the Land of Iron. He wondered why it had taken him that long to realize it.

Sakura threw her hands in the air in a show of growing irritation herself. This again? It reminded her too much of the conversation she had had with the blonde man in the Land of Iron when she had confessed to him in the presence of a few other Konoha Shinobi, and she did not need to be reminded just how disastrous that conversation had turned out. She did not want a repeat of the same in the present. "Why?" She started, in a much higher tone. "Because of some stupid promise you made to me as a kid? Naruto, when will you stop thinking that the things you do on your own hurt others as well?" She said, realizing just how exasperated she was feeling at the moment with her teammate.

Realizing how agitated Sakura was sounding at the moment plus the response she had dished out to him, Naruto was shocked. He removed his hand completely from his forehead and allowed it to rest freely at his head, now regarding the girl before him. There was a sort of fiery look in her gaze at the moment towards him at the moment, which almost caused him to hesitate in whatever he had in mind. Steeling his nerves, however, he decided that if he did not do it now, then he would regret it for the rest of his life and the time he spent next to the girl of his dreams.

"Look, Sakura-chan," he started, in a stern voice, possibly the sternest voice he had ever talked to the girl with," the reason I didn't want you to know was because I knew that you would act in the same way you are acting right now. I didn't want things to ever change between us. I wanted to stay by your side forever, even if it meant my love was unrequited. And more than anything, I just want you to be happy."

 _If you knew how I really felt about you, it would put you in a position where you would have to constantly watch out for my feelings. There was no way I was going to ever do something so selfish to you. You're the kindest girl I know, and that would be taking advantage of your kindness in a sense._

He had hoped that these words would be enough to make the girl understand, and abate her ever growing anger, but unfortunately for him, they had the opposite effect. The girl was enraged at this point, owing to the way she had her fists clenched at her sides. It couldn't be helped, at least in Sakura's case. While she knew that Naruto only had the best intentions at heart for her when he explained his reasons to her, some part of her thought that he was treating her like a kid who couldn't handle the truth. All of a sudden, it felt as if the roles between the two had been switched and that, unlike in the Land of Iron where Naruto had told Sakura she was making painful excuses, it was Naruto who was now making painful excuses instead. Under any normal circumstances with her best friend, she would have laughed at the sheer irony of the situation, but the way they were at the moment, it was no time for laughs. Instead, a small fragment of her felt shattered, and she slowly felt tears welling up in her eyes.

Naruto had already hurt her in the snowy country when he had told her that she was lying to herself when she said she loved him. And now, it was as if he was denying himself the right to love her.

Her voice was shaky when she opened her mouth to respond to him," Well, you know what, if me being happy means that you have to sacrifice your feelings, then I don't want it. Any of it! I didn't ask you to do this! I didn't ask you to love me!" She said, and by the end of her statement, she was all too aware of the familiar wet feeling on the sides of her face. She realized that it would be too late to hide her crying face from the boy before her, so the only thing she could do was look upon him with her tear-glistened face so that he could know just how much he had hurt her.

Unsurprisingly to her, the blonde man had also reached the level of his patience with the girl before him. He had his teeth gritted in his open mouth and an angry look on his face, before saying in an equally irate voice to the Medic Ninja, "Is that so? Fine then, I'm sorry I even fell for you in the first place."

And with that, Uzumaki Naruto exited the premises, leaving in his wake a grief stricken Sakura, who made no attempts to hide the anguish that had just struck her. She cried freely, keeping her gaze focused on the ground, in a manner reminiscent of the way she had a while back when Sai had revealed to her the truth regarding Naruto's feelings. And similarly, just like back then, from the back of a nearby tree, a certain dark haired man was watching her with a solemn look etched upon his face.

 **A/N:** Thanks everyone for the reviews, favorites and alerts! This is my first attempt at trying to write NS in an angsty manner, so I hope I managed to capture it perfectly. Still, I hoped you enjoyed the overall chapter! Read and review!


	3. Not Anymore

**Chapter 3**

 **Not Anymore**

The dark haired man slowly approached his pink haired teammate, having extricated himself from the tree he had been hiding behind earlier. He had watched everything that had transpired between his blonde teammate and the Medic, a pang of guilt ringing in his heart after all had been said and done between the two. Ever since Naruto had stormed off earlier and left him to his own devices in a foul mood, Sai had followed closely behind the blonde man, unsure whether he would be able to talk to Sakura clearly with the current state he was in. He couldn't have been more right. As he watched the exchange of words between the two teammates, unable to do anything since he knew that it was none of his place to intervene, Sai realized just how much the argument held for the two best friends. It was his first time seeing them argue ever since he had joined Team Seven, the time in the Land of Iron not counting since back then both of them seemed to be hiding something from each other, but this time, everything had been laid bare. It certainly wasn't pretty, Sai reminisced, his footsteps coming to a halt behind the pink haired girl.

Sakura herself was certainly none the better, her tears coming out in rivulets and she making no attempts to stop them as they escaped her eyes. She was already at the end of her grief, the words from her teammate still ringing in her ears and stinging her anew each time she remembered them. She had tried her hardest to remain strong from the moment he had turned his back to her and vacated the premises, but it was too much for her to remain herself. Giving in to her agony, Sakura cried…and cried.

The sound of halting footsteps behind her brought her to the realization that there was someone behind her, and she was caught off guard. Her first thought, of course, was that it was her dark haired superior, appearing to check up on her after she had taken an awfully long time outside with Naruto. She did not relish the thought of being seen in her current grief-stricken state, so hastily, she wiped her eyes with her hands as she spoke up to the person standing behind her," I'll be back inside in a minute, Shizune-san."

"Sakura…" the person behind her spoke softly.

The Medic was startled by the voice, recognizing it as not belonging to Shizune but to her other male teammate. She had not expected him to show up just then, wondering what business he had come seeking her for.

Turning her back to face him, she regarded him with her emerald eyes, her eyes still showing dark outlines under them which would no doubt betray that she had been crying earlier, but she decided that she would best hide that fact as much as possible from the dark haired man. "Sai," she started," what are you doing here?" Her voice came out husky as the words escaped her palate.

As she regarded him with her emerald gaze, Sakura could not help but notice that there was a solemn expression on his visage. Putting two and two together, she realized that it was a look of concern, which had probably stemmed from having seen her and Naruto argue earlier. It was not exactly confirmed fully, so she proceeded to ask in a tentative voice.

"You saw?" Something in her told her that she already knew the answer before it escaped his lips. His brusque nod just then all but confirmed it for her, but she felt a certain sense of relief with the knowledge that he saw for himself. It spared her the sadness she would relive by explaining it to him, as she did not want to recount such an event when the grief stayed afresh in her heart.

The pink haired girl realized that she did not wish to talk to anyone at the moment in her current state, so she made to excuse herself from the dark haired man's presence and head back into the tent. Whilst she was sure that with time she would heal her broken heart, she wanted to avoid thinking about her blonde teammate for a while. Hopefully, the work she was about to endorse herself in would distract her enough to those ends, she reminisced, as she headed back to the front of the tent where her Master still lay on her bed.

As she took a few steps away, however, her dark haired teammate spoke up to her once more, "Um….you can talk to me if you want. I'll lend an ear."

Sakura was taken aback by the show of concern she had just received from the dark haired man, having never seen that side of him before. Still, she was glad that he was expressing worry for her, so she looked back at him, a fond smile on her face that she had mustered with as much sincerity as possible as she reassured him," It's okay, Sai. I'll be able to handle things with Naruto."

Sai was not satisfied with that, feeling a growing sense of discomfort inside him. He closed his eyes a little as if trying to abate the negative feeling, turning his head to the side a little as he tried recomposing his thoughts. A fraction of a second later, he opened his eyes once more then rested his dark gaze on the pink haired girl, finally speaking up," Things weren't supposed to go like this. I'm sorry."

Confusion was evident on the girl's face as her teammate's words sunk into her. She tilted her head to the side, her arms resting across her chest as she regarded the Root member. At that moment a chord struck in her, as she came to the realization that Sai had been acting a bit off for someone who had only witnessed two of his teammates fighting. Fighting amongst teammates of course, was not something that was unheard of, meaning that it need not be made a big issue as Sai was making it look like at the moment. Besides, it was uncommon for him to display such a high level of worry over something unless it was something really important.

"What's going on Sai?" She was prompted to ask him, her confusion not waning in the slightest.

The dark haired man wasted no time in responding this time, saying in a curt manner," I told Naruto the truth of why you went to the Land of Iron in the first place."

The Medic simply raised her eyebrows in mild surprise, finally piecing the events together. "Oh," she muttered weakly, being the only response to come out of her mouth, finding herself at a loss of what to say.

Sai was astonished at what he deemed a lackluster response from her. After seeing how she had lashed out at Naruto earlier, he was certain that he would get the same treatment, since he was technically the one that had brought on all this in the first place. His tone took on an uncertain nature as he spoke up," You aren't going to get angry at me? I thought you were going to react the same way you did at Naruto earlier." As he spoke to the pink haired girl, he could not help but notice that her anger at Naruto earlier had been different from the way she was angry at him in the Land of Iron. He wondered if there lay any special meaning behind it.

Sighing a little due to exhaustion, Sakura's face took on a resigned look as she looked at the ground beneath her. Placing one hand on her arm, she says in a tone mirroring the expression on her face," There's no need to do that. All you did was told him the truth. There's no way I would resent you for that."

A small sense of relief washed over Sai at this response, but he did not allow it to linger long. Looking at Sakura, he could not help but notice that she was in a bit of a depressed mood. She seemed as if she still had more she wanted to get off her chest, and it would be uncouth for him to leave without at least trying to comfort his teammate. Deciding against his earlier decision, the dark haired man decided to stay with her a little longer until she was out of her somber mood. It was the least he could do to make amends, he reflected, proceeding to stand beside her.

A few moments of silence ensued, putting Sai in a bit of an uncomfortable mood, so he decided to try and break the ice," Sakura…"

This time, however, he was not allowed to complete his sentence, as Sakura interrupted almost immediately, talking to herself more than anything," It's just, I don't understand. Why would he get angry over something like that?" Silence took the air around the two once more, and Sai took it as a cue that she was waiting for some sort of response, although he was not sure from whom exactly. He complied nonetheless.

"I think a part of me understands. Well, he's wanted to tell you for a long time now, and I kind of ruined all that."

The Medic spoke up again, "Is it really something that simple? He was acting as if he wanted me to forget all of it."

"And with perfectly good reason too. Sakura, he knows how you've always felt about Sasuke all these years. He didn't want you to feel guilty for not returning his feelings. No matter how much it would hurt him. You know he's that kind of a person."

The pink haired girl gasped at this response, astonished as to how she had not seen such a fact before. Of course, she thought, it would be so Naruto-like to think in that manner. She responded," Why does he always bring up Sasuke-kun whenever his feelings pop up?" She had paid it no heed before, but with the recurrent nature it had taken of late, she realized she could not pay it a mind anymore.

Sai's tone took on a serious nature this time," Sakura, you saw how you acted when Sasuke was branded an international criminal. And he did too. What do you think he was supposed to make of that?"

Sakura was rendered speechless for what seemed the umpteenth time that day. "I-"she started, but stopped as the words she wished to say got stuck in her throat.

Sai was not quite done yet," Sakura, there's something I didn't tell you. Once you left with the others to go deal with Sasuke, I talked to Naruto and told him the truth. You wanted to kill Sasuke because you couldn't bear to watch him turn evil and were committed to him, right?"

A tinge of irritation was slowly growing in the pink haired girl, which she guiltily realized was due to the truth of the matter as it was back then. Still, she realized, things had changed drastically from what they were back then. She wasted no time in voicing her protests," Yeah, you're right…But not anymore!" Her voice had grown a tad higher with the last part of the statement, all traces of her earlier negativity seemingly having ebbed away.

As soon as she had completed her retort just then, Sakura realized with a shock that Naruto was aware of all of this, all that she had been discussing with Sai. Her heart sunk inside her as she surmised that unknowingly, she and Sai had crushed any hopes Naruto had of winning her over. Placing a hand over her mouth in shock, she said underneath her breath," I think I did something horrible." Her eyes trailed back to the ground beneath her, and tears threatened to spill out of them again. She was not sure whether she would be able to restrain herself this time as well.

To her surprise, however, she felt a strong pair of arms on her shoulders, the force bringing her out of her stupor, and the next thing she knew her dark haired teammate was ahead of her and looking at her fiercely with his dark eyes. He said in a stern manner," No, Sakura, you haven't. Listen to me; you need to go see him one more time, properly. Talk to him and make sure he listens. Because at this rate I don't think things are going to ever be the same between you two."

The pinkette merely looked at her teammate silently with her green orbs, and then, withdrawing both her hands from her mouth, she managed a brusque nod before taking off.

 **A/N:** Well, here is the second last chapter, since next chapter will be the full resolution of things between Naruto and Sakura. Again, I hope this chapter turned out okay; it's still my first time writing on the angst genre, so well I pray that things are going okay so far. Thank you for all the reviews, favorites and follows so far! Stay tuned for next chapter!


	4. I Want to Hear Those Words From You

**Chapter 4**

 **I Want to Hear Those Words From You**

The first place in mind Sakura thought of searching for her blonde teammate, of course, was none other than Ichiraku Ramen. She was well versed with his habits, having spent all that time with him in Team Seven, aware that whenever Naruto was in a negative mood he would be cheered up by the sight of his favorite thing in the world, ramen. And not just any ramen, ramen from his best food stall in the Land of Fire, Ichiraku Ramen.

As the pink haired girl swung the curtain at the entrance to the stall, she half expected to find her blonde teammate noisily slurping at the contents of his bowl. She was not sure whether she was supposed to wait for him to finish eating in that case, but to her dismay, she was never allowed the chance to find out the answer to that question. There was no one else in the food stall apart from the owner, Teuchi, who was keeping his hands busy preparing ramen on the other side of the counter.

The elderly man wasted no time in greeting the newest customer to his stand. "Yo, Sakura! Fancy seeing you here today…." His enthusiastic greeting died down once he noticed the troubled look on her face. Something was not right here, the old man immediately realized.

"What's wrong?" He asked her in a concerned tone. The more he studied her facial expression, the more he took note of the fact that she seemed to be in some sort of a hurry.

"Teuchi-san, has Naruto been here?" Sakura asked after an extended period of silence. There was an unreadable look in her eyes just then as she focused her emerald gaze on the old man.

Teuchi paused a little, before saying, "He was here a while earlier, but he didn't stay long."

The news dejected Sakura a little, and she was just about to excuse herself and leave the counter to go and search for the blonde man elsewhere, when a second person appeared at the counter.

"Sakura, did you have some sort of a fight with Naruto?" Ayame asked, rejoining her father on the other side of the counter. There was a pensive look on her face.

Tilting her head to the side, Sakura did not answer, instead intently focusing on one of the stools that were arranged in a neat formation beside her. A look of guilt was evident on her face accompanied by a small feeling of shame, which Ayame did not waste any time in noticing. She felt a little sorry for both teammates.

Placing both hands on her waist, she said," I had a feeling it was something like that. Naruto-kun barely touched his ramen when he ordered it, saying that he wasn't feeling so well all of a sudden so he was going to go home and rest a little."

A glimmer of hope shone in Sakura at this information, and she felt grateful to the brown haired woman. Bowing, she expressed her thanks and immediately set out for the blonde man's home, her pace increasing with each step.

Once the pink haired girl vacated the shop, leaving the duo of father and daughter, Teuchi was the first one to turn on his daughter, "How did you know that it was a fight between the two?" His voice carried a tone of awe and amazement at what his daughter had just done. The younger girl, feeling extremely pleased in her own observation skills just then, could not hide the pride in her voice and gait, puffing out her chest slightly then remarking," Men are kind of easy to read in times like this."

~~ _Sakura~~_

A few moments later, she had arrived at Naruto's doorstep, short of breath owing to the run she had broken into shortly after leaving the ramen stall. As she stood before the green, slightly dilapidated structure, she could not help but realize that her own heart rate had increased erratically. She was growing nervous, aware that this was the first time she had ever felt that way outside Naruto's house.

Calming her growing anxiety, she proceeded to knock on the door. She did not wait long to hear a response, the sound of footsteps on the other side growing louder as they approached the door.

She couldn't restrain herself. "Naruto, it's me."

The footsteps came to a halt; consequentially the door did not open to let the pink haired girl. Sakura was dejected by the show of hospitality, but somewhere in her heart she expected this sort of treatment from the blonde man. She reflected that if things were still normal between the two, by that time she would have already broken down his door and stormed into his room, at the end of her anger. But not that time. Things were far from normal between the two, and she was dead sure she had no right to storm into his apartment and act as if things were still normal. She was probably the last person Naruto wanted to see at that moment.

Patiently, she waited to see if the footsteps would retreat back into the house where they had come from. A few seconds elapsed, with no sound originating from inside the house, so Sakura took that as her cue to proceed talking.

"You don't have to open the door, okay? You don't even have to say anything too, but just, let me say this," she started, her voice slightly shaky from all the nervousness she was still feeling. Some of it wore off, prompting her to continue," I talked to Sai earlier, and well, I think I've not exactly been a good friend to you of late." At some point, she had leaned on his door unaware of what she had done. Once she had completed that sentence, she noticed that all of a sudden the task before her was harder than she had initially assumed. Still, she had come this far. So she intended to see this all the way through to the end.

"I won't ask you to forgive me. I won't say I'm sorry," she continued, her newly found confidence slowly rising with each sentence she said. Sakura was well aware just how much it would destroy Naruto if she gave him the impression that she pitied him.

"What I'm trying to say is that, well talking to Sai earlier helped me realize something. He was right when he said that I wanted to kill Sasuke because I was committed to my love for him," Sakura had a feeling that saying something like this would cause Naruto to cringe in pain, as he had to relive the pain of being told something as shattering as this twice….but she knew that it was the first step to repairing things between them. The first step in anything was always the hardest.

"But," her tone was sharp, giving no leeway for Naruto to linger in what she had said earlier, "there's more after that that both you and Sai don't know. See, when Sasuke-kun was about to slit my throat under the bridge earlier," her hand moved subconsciously to her throat where the dark haired man had choked her, and she could still feel the ghost feeling of his grip on her," my vision blacked out for a moment. I thought it was all over for me and all that waited for me was my death. But then, you appeared and saved me. Like you always have. You were always there for me, and somehow that's all I needed. Just you. Back when you told me you regretted falling for me, I realized you were going to be gone soon. And little by little, I slowly felt something in me go numb. I've never felt so alone before."

The words rung true as she said them, bringing with them vivid memories of the time in the Land of Iron when Sakura confessed to Naruto before her comrades. At first, she wondered why such a memory prodded at her, but she surprised herself as she realized that the truth in her words was still there, even after all this time. This fact brought a ray of happiness to her.

She took a huff to calm herself once more, then continued," Naruto, I know that I'm being really selfish right now, but this is what I really feel. I don't want to lose you. Stay, please." It was a small plea, but still, from the other side of the door, Naruto felt his heart nearly shatter into a million pieces from the sincerity in her tone.

At the end of her rant, Sakura realized that she felt as if a load had been eased of her, her heart and general mood now feeling lighter. A small smile crossed her face, as she allowed herself a tap on the back for being able to say what she wanted to say. "That's all I needed to say. I hope I'll see you soon, Naruto," she said in a conclusive tone, preparing to leave the front of his house. In truth, she was not sure how much he had heard, or if he had even bothered to stay till the end, but since she was able to pour out her heart to him, she realized that it was enough. Turning to her side, she prepared to descend down the spiral flight of stairs that led up to Naruto's house, but before she could take a few steps away, she caught on to the sound of a door unlocking behind her, only being able to turn her head to find her arm being pulled back, her body following suit, then a strong pair of arms wrapping around her.

Her eyes caught a flash of orange before she felt her body pressed against another body whose warmth she recognized familiarly. Her mind caught on a few moments later and informed her that it was Naruto, but still she could not deny the scare he almost gave her with the impromptu gesture. A few seconds elapsed, before Sakura noted with curiosity that Naruto's body was shaking and her shoulder was growing slightly moist. She could hear the soft sound of sobs next to her ear, astonished that Naruto was crying.

Placing a hand on his hair and pulling him slightly closer, Sakura asked him in a worrisome tone," What's wrong?"

"Nothing. It's just that, I think I've never been this happy and sad at the same time before," Naruto responded, his voice shaky between sobs.

Of course, the pink haired girl had not expected such a response from him, but it still brought her joy nonetheless. Her eyes stung with tears as she felt herself growing increasingly elated. "Idiot," she softly muttered under her breath.

"Hehe, I guess I am one after all. But at least I'm being honest, right?" He shot back Sakura's earlier sentiments at her, and the young woman could not help but feel amused at his cheekiness just then. She had missed seeing that side of him. Naruto removed his face from her shoulder, now looking at her with his cerulean orbs. The intensity he was looking at her with made her heart skip a beat, and she had to struggle to avoid a blush breaking out onto her cheeks.

"Sakura-chan, no matter how much you love Sasuke, I'll always be here for you," Naruto stated in a confident tone, grinning at the end of his declaration.

Sakura merely face palmed at this bold declaration. Clearly, this conversation was heading nowhere. "You still don't get it do you?" she retorted in an impatient tone, something that slightly scared Naruto. Letting go of her slowly, Naruto took a few steps backwards, a bead of perspiration breaking out on his forehead. Sighing due to exasperation, Sakura continued," Weren't you listening to what I was saying earlier?" Her voice was steadily losing its edge.

Meekly, the blonde could only say," I was?"

That was the last straw. Throwing her hands in the air, Sakura half shouted at Naruto ,"You seemed to have missed the part where I said I was over Sasuke."

"EEEEEEEH?!"

All traces of earlier nervousness had disappeared. Naruto's mouth was wide agape, his eyes having grown to the size of bulbs. His first thought was his ears were playing tricks on him, or even worse, Sakura was lying again like she had in the Land of Iron regarding her feelings for Sasuke. The fierce look her emerald eyes currently carried, however, ebbed away most of the doubts he harbored. It was a look of genuinely. Naruto felt a little relieved at this, but there still lingered doubts in a small corner of his heart.

"Does that mean…I have a chance now?" He asked in a barely audible voice, but still loud enough for the girl in front of him to hear. As soon as the words escaped his palate, he was visited by the uncomfortable feeling that he had just asked a ridiculously stupid question. He covered his mouth immediately, hoping against all odds that Sakura had miraculously missed what he had half-mindedly uttered there.

To his sheer embarrassment, however, Sakura arched an eyebrow in surprise, displaying that she had caught on to every word he had uttered crystal clear. A smile made itself onto her cheeks soon after. Naruto wondered what it meant. Shaking her head, she closed the distance between her and her blonde teammate, before saying, "It depends. There's something I want you to tell me first." Her voice carried a strange hint of mischievousness, which went unnoticed by Naruto.

The blonde man was befuddled by her sudden request, tipping his head in confusion.

Her cheeks a faint shade of pink now, Sakura cast her gaze downwards, before adding on in a flustered tone," What you told Sai, about your feelings. I want to hear it from you this time."

Naruto was astonished by the pink haired girl for the umpteenth time that day. He was rendered speechless, only being able to manage," Sakura-chan, I-"He was not sure what he was supposed to say.

To his further astonishment, muddled with embarrassment this time, Sakura took a step forward, closing out the distance between her and Naruto for good this time, as she proceeded to latch onto his chest, grabbing his jacket with both her hands.

"Please."

Naruto merely looked at the form of the young girl holding onto his body as if for dear life, being rendered more and more speechless with each of her actions. She looked so fragile. From the moment she had showed up at his doorstep, she had laid her heart out bare for him, and a part of him knew that she also wanted him to be honest with her as well.

It was still hard.

"But, the promise-"he stated hesitantly, grasping for straws as he tried to worm his way out of this conversation. He was still not entirely sure whether it was the right thing to do at this point in time.

Cutting him off, Sakura placed a finger on his lips, silencing him. It felt soft to the touch, and he was tempted to kiss it. The girl then proceeded to look up at him, and Naruto noted that the edges of her eyes were shining with tears.

"We're going to do it, together." She replied in a confident tone, flashing him a small smile.

Naruto looked at her green eyes, which were full of life at the moment and seemed to shine with a certain mystical nature. That gaze washed away his remaining doubts. She was sure of this. How could he deny her now?

His heartbeat was slowly receding to normal, as his mouth opened to say the words he had wanted to say a long time now, "I love you, Sakura-chan. I've always loved you, and I think I probably always will. No matter what happens between us, from here on out, I want you to remember that I will always love you."

He did not know why he said it twice, but it felt so right either way.

The tears that had stilled themselves in Sakura's eyes immediately flowed out at his confession, and a watery smile adorned her face. Wordlessly, she proceeded to take his face into her hands, placing a kiss on his welcoming lips. It was her first kiss, by no means was it meant to be perfect, but still, she loved the sweet feeling on Naruto's lips. The kiss was quite short, but she was still glad that it had happened. Releasing her lips from his, she could feel her heart laden with emotions that threatened to spill out of her, something that she had never experienced before with anyone else.

In that moment, Sakura Haruno knew that everything was perfect. It had always been around Uzumaki Naruto, and she had finally realized it.

"That's all I've ever wanted to hear."

~~End~~

 **A/N:** And that's a wrap, folks! I hope this conclusion was okay, and that I didn't skim over anything, since I wanted to make this as conclusive and inclusive of everything as possible, a job I think I did fairly well. To tell you the truth, the story should not have taken this long to conclude, but well sometimes life tends to get busy so I wasn't able to update as soon as I wanted. Still, the story has come to a close now, so thank you so much for all the follows, reviews and favorites. Really, you guys are amazing and keep up the support and good work.

Till next time then, take care!


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